


The Way You Look Tonight

by itslikegodspilledaperson



Series: The Edison/Winger Chronicles [2]
Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Karaoke, Post-Canon, Sinatra, Study Group, post-s5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2015-03-13
Packaged: 2018-03-17 15:38:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3534848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itslikegodspilledaperson/pseuds/itslikegodspilledaperson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the events of my first fic, this next part in my ongoing series takes place at a Girls Night in a karaoke bar.  Annie, Britta, Rachel, and Shirley enjoy galentines day over some drinks and bad renditions of classic pop songs.  But little does Annie know, a wall is all that separates her from her boyfriend who is supposedly out with Duncan.  Mostly from Jeff/Annie's perspective but Abed, Troy, and Britta get brief POVs too.  </p><p>Title derived from the Frank Sinatra song of the same name.</p><p>First part found here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3523049/chapters/7748336</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Way You Look Tonight

**Author's Note:**

> Part 1 of series found here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/3523049/chapters/7748336 
> 
> Takes place roughly a year or so into Jeff/Annie's relationship.

Jeff stood backstage, nervous. The twenty push-ups he'd just done in an effort to get some tension out did not help. Maybe it was because he did them in a three-piece suit, but that was beside the point. He could hear “She's a Maniac” from Dirty Dancing playing off to his right, as a forty-something couple did their best to recite it while dancing in place. Or was it flashdance? Whatever. Karaoke isn’t for everybody. 

Karaoke also rarely had this high of stakes. He had made a point to not drink tonight so that he was extra sharp, and the lack of liquid courage in his system was all too noticeable. Another problem for another time, he thought. While Jeff’s nerves were getting the best of him, he could tell it was entertaining to Abed, leaning against a wall just a few feet away on the other side of the hallway. 

“Okay, Humor me. What movie trope are you thinking of right now” he asked, curious. 

The look on Abed’s face told him he had been waiting all too long for Jeff to ask him that. “The Ex-Lone Wolf with a heart of Gold. Essentially when a character that’s mostly stoic and thick skinned opens his heart up and proposes in some equally intricate and romantic way. It’s the best form of character development and honestly the only way I enjoy TV romance. Especially during the part where he plans out the gesture with his friends, because it shows just how much effort he’s willing to put into his relationship, and how supportive of him his friends are. In that case it’s me and Troy.”

As if on cue, Troy appeared from around the corner. “Aye, man. You’re up the song after next.”

Jeff breathed a deep breath. “And she has no idea I’m here?” He asked. 

Troy nodded. “Yeah, Britta just texted me. You’re in the clear. Annie’s at the table with her Rachel and Shirley, 4th row, slightly off center to the left of the stage.”

Abed started mumbling the pledge of allegiance in his head as his fingers began to write out imaginary calculations. Troy grabbed Abed’s head and pointed it to the wall. “That way”, he said. Abed nodded.

Jeff felt a little better now that they were both here. “Thanks for doing this,” he said. 

They both looked at each other and then at Jeff. “No problem, man. It’s what friends are for. And forgive me if this is a bad time, but...I have a question.”

“What?”

“Do you have a dollar?” Troy asked, bashfully. “I wanna get a soda from the vending machine.”

Jeff rolled his eyes and breathed an exasperated sigh as he got out his wallet and removed a single. “Knock yourself out”, he said as he handed it over. Troy half ran, half skipped to the vending machine. Abed glanced at him with that look in his eye. Before Jeff put the wallet away, he took out another single. “Spend it wisely, those are the only singles I have,” he insisted as Abed ran over to his friend. He couldn’t help but laugh despite himself. Even though those two had matured beyond their years since he met them, they still had that childlike incredulity that he had to admire.  
\--------------------------  
Just a mere matter of yards away on the other side of a grey brick wall, Britta, Annie, Rachel and Shirley sat at a small circular table enjoying the performance along with some drinks. Britta couldn’t tell what was more entertaining, when someone was extremely good at karaoke or when they were not so good. For the life of her she could not figure out which side of the spectrum this rendition of Maniac was. All the better, she figured. She was excited that the girls finally got a night out. Yes, Shirley was back in town for a couple days to visit friends and family, but that wasn’t the only reason Britta was excited. 

She was excited because, in roughly 10 minutes from now Jeff Winger was going to strut out onstage in a tuxedo, sing a musical number, and give Annie the opportunity, nay, the privilege, to be his fiancée. And neither Annie nor Shirley had even the slightest clue. She had orchestrated the night along with Jeff, Troy, Abed, and Rachel; five of the world best schemers putting their heads together to make a foolproof plan, what could go wrong? If Abed were with them, he’d probably reference the Great Escape or something. Thanks, imaginary Abed, for dampening the mood she thought. It’s a pity Annie couldn’t help plan it given her organizational skills, but since this was all for her, calling that counterproductive would be understatement of the century. They had decided to do it the weekend Shirley was back in town, because they knew she would never forgive them if something this adorable happened when she was in Denver. Maniac had finished, and the next couple came up onstage, preparing to perform the cliché yet classic “Eye of the Tiger”. Britta and Annie shared a look, and took advantage of the lull to make small talk. 

“So Annie…” Rachel began. “Where’s Jeff tonight?” 

Annie looked up from her drink. “Oh, I just talked to him an hour ago or so, actually. Him and Duncan are grading papers and then he said they’re probably going out to watch a Nuggets game at that new bar. Those two, they’re adorable,” Annie giggled. “Don’t tell Troy and Abed this, but I seriously think they give them a run for their money in the bromance department.. And this isn’t some rash observation; I’ve got experience. I lived with all four.”

The group laughed; Annie really could be very funny when she wasn’t stressed out about this and that, Britta thought.

“Wait….when did you live with Duncan???” She mused aloud.

“Well….never on paper I guess. But he crashes at Jeff’s apartment at least once a week after hitting the juice, and I sleep there most days, so there tends to be an overlap. It’s tough competing for his love though…”

The four roared with laughter. Britta was caught up in the moment, and a slight kick from Rachel under the table made her remember what she was supposed to ask Annie next. She prepared for the tee-up question, trying as hard as possible to sound casual. By a stroke of luck however, Shirley unknowingly beat her to the punch. 

“Aww, I haven’t seen Jeffrey since coming back! How are you twooooo??” Shirley inquired. 

Annie blushed and smiled ear to ear, looking away momentarily. “Perfect,” she revealed. “It’s almost been a year and we’re still going strong! I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. It’s an amazing feeling to…” she looks away, embarrassed as her pale cheeks turned a shade of light pink. "never mind." 

Britta could feel her heart melting by way of Annie’s utter adorableness. “Annie! What were you gonna say?” She prodded lightheartedly. 

Annie brushed some hair out of her face and played with the straw on her Jamison/Ginger Ale a little bit. “I don’t know….it’s one thing to date the guy you had a crush on….but with Jeff it's a whole new feeling. I feel like I get to have a crush on the guy I date.”

“AWWWWW!” The girls said in unison. 

“I…I don’t want to tempt fate or anything,” Annie concluded, “But…I feel like he’s the one.”  
Britta and Rachel shared another quick glance, as the guitar riff to Eye of the Tiger started. Too late to tempt fate, she thought. Fate’s plan was well underway. She discretely pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Troy.  
\--------------------------  
Troy and Abed returned to Jeff, sporting twin cans of Mr. Pibb. “TROY AND ABED DRINKING SOOODA”, they said in unison over the sounds of the Rocky III theme. Why weren’t THEY doing karaoke tonight? A look at Jeff’s suit was enough for him to remember: “Oh yeaaaahh…” Speaking of which, he thought, he grabbed his phone to see one new message from Britta. 

"9:45- Buzzkill to Butt Soup. Green Light. Tell Tango that Operation Law and Shorter is a go." She would never be allowed to pick the mission code names again, he thought. 

Troy showed the text to Jeff. He nodded, evidently still nervous. “Don’t be nervous, man. What’s the worst that could happen?”

“She says no, I embarrass myself yet again, and I die alone,” Jeff quipped.

Troy paused. “Okay, maybe be a little bit nervous. And don’t worry, a bit of nerves is a good thing. If you felt nothing, then that would mean you were paralyzed. Wait, you’re not paralyzed right? Jeff? JEFF? JEFF C’MON BUDDY ANSWER ME, CAN YOU FEEL THIS?” He pinched Jeff’s shoulder.

“Ow! Yeah, Troy I’m not paralyzed. If I was I’d probably be in a wheelchair.”

He recoiled. “Oh…okay. I was worried.”

“Thank you for your concern,” Jeff’s voice was laden with sarcasm.

Abed piped up to fill the silence, as Jeff’s moment of glory was just five minutes away. “Very fitting that this is the song they play right before your big moment. It’s like the karaoke is making the movie reference for me.”  
\--------------------------  
The song came to an end as Annie and the girls cheered and wooed. The MC for the night, a mid-30s balding man by the name of Bobby came up onstage. 

“Give another round of applause to the Jabobs family!” He boomed, gesturing to the couple fitting their mics back into the stand. They waved bashfully to the applause before returning to their seats. 

“Okay ladies and gentlemen, our last song of the night is a bit of a special one….  
\--------------------------  
Jeff felt a rising lump in his throat as he stood 4 feet away from the curtain. He put on his fedora, and grabbed a drink from Troy. It wasn’t really a drink, it was just water with ice in a glass and a lemon slice wedged onto the side of the cup, but the audience didn’t know that. It made for a good prop. 

“….It’s The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra, being performed for that special someone in the crowd. Which special someone? Well, they’ll know who they are soon enough. Ladies and Gentlemen, give a warm welcome to the one and only Sinatra!” The lights dimmed, and one spotlight lit up center stage, where the mic stand and a lone stool stood. Jeff was about to walk onstage when a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Startled, he turned around to see Troy holding out a tiny box. 

“Forgetting something?” Jeff smirked and slid it into his coat before pulling his hat low and waltzing out on stage. 

“Wait, did this fall out??” He whispered.

“I took it. I wanted to be able to say ‘forgetting something?’ and hand it to you.”

He rolled his eyes. No mind, he thought. It was go time.  
\--------------------------  
Annie cheered as the rest of the crowd did when the Sinatra impersonator walked out onstage. He was tall, more or less Jeff’s height, with a fedora pulled low over his head. He waltzed out, drink in hand and all, putting the drink down on the stool after a generous sip. Next, he walked over to the MC, shaking his hand and tapping his shoulder with the other as the two exchanged a few brief words.

After Bobby had left the stage, the man whose face remained concealed by a combination of the low fedora, his low-tilting head, and strategic lighting, made his way over to the microphone. 

“Thank you all for coming out tonight,” He said in a sexy yet forceful whisper. “Just like my buddy Bobby said, this song goes out to a special someone. They’ll know who they are soon enough. I love you, babe.”

Annie could hear her internal “Awwwww” going off at full volume, and her heart fluttered. Whoever had claims on this mystery guy sure was lucky, she thought as the song began to play. The crowd loved it, and began to snap unison along to the beat.  
\--------------------------  
Jeff clutched the microphone with both hands, as his cue to sing arrived. He had only caught a glimpse of Annie out from under the brim of his hat. Her hair was off to the side, slightly curled and dangling around her. She wore ruby red lipstick with a stunning off-white dress: sleeveless with a crew neck and a brown necklace with beads roughly the size of a grape dangling about 4 inches below her collar. It was all he could really see, due to the lights having been turned off. He had to be careful not to stare for too long or he could pre-emptively blow his cover.  
\--------------------------  
“Sooooome day…. When I’m awfully low….” The man began to sing. She couldn’t help but feel like his voice sounded familiar, she thought. She shook off the thought, glancing quickly at her table mates who were all enjoying the show, smiles of admiration on their faces. They must be as in love with this guy as she was, she thought. He got a verse or two into the song when his hand removed the microphone from the stand as he took a step forward. “…won’t you please arrange it, cuz I loooooooooove you” His free hand came up to his hat, and removed it in one clean swipe and pointing it in their direction. The hat in his extended hand still obstructed her view of his face, and for a second it seemed he was pointing at her… Then a light turned on from straight above, highlighting her and only her. Yep, he was definitely pointing at her. She was flattered, and then got apprehensive when she thought about how Jeff might dislike this story when she told him later. At that very second, the man tossed his hat over his head, revealing himself as the fedora landed at the base of the curtains. Her jaw dropped. It was her Jeff. 

Maybe he won’t mind this story after all, she thought. Her hands moved up to her face, cupping over her mouth as she did her best to stifle her laughs. She was amazed. She was swept away. She was stunned, in awe, and a billion other things but most importantly she was in love. She felt a tear form in the corner of her eye. He stepped down off the stage, and towards her. She felt like she was sitting on her own personal cloud, the light on heaven shining on her from above as her guardian angel made his way through the chairs towards her. She looked around at her friends. Shirley looked just as shocked as her, and just as unable to contain her excitement as she covered her mouth in one hand and fanned herself with the other. The other two were beaming with pride and wore knowing smiles on their faces. They had been behind this, she realized. She looked back, as Jeff was within reaching distance of her now. He grabbed her hand as he sang the last final words of the tune. She looked up with him, and forgot that everyone in the building had their eyes on her. It was just her and him locking eyes, and she was so entranced she didn’t realize he had lowered himself into a kneeling position as he finished the last word of the song. Without missing a beat, he bent over and kissed her hand the same way he did on that 2nd day of study group. Her eyes were full of water now, as she looked down at him, chest heaving as she laughed and cried simultaneously. The place went quiet, as he flashed the trademark Jeff Winger grin.

“Milady,” he said.

“Milord,” She managed to utter back.

“I know that with our friends, I’m the one who makes the speeches. But no speech I had could do justice to the amount that I love you, I don’t know how to say how much I truly love you in a normal way. However…” He put the microphone down gently, and reached into his coat pocket where he removed a small little box. “I do know how to ask. And I wanted to ask you if you’d do me the honor of marrying m-“

Before he could finish, she grabbed his face with both her hands and pulled him in for a long, lingering kiss. The place erupted in applause, aws, and everything in between as the two lovebirds locked lips. As she let go of him, he inquired: “I’m assuming this is a yes, right?”

“Fill in the dots”, she countered as they kissed again. By now, her friends had swarmed around them, and they stood up. 

“I’m guessing you two were behind this?” Annie asked, barely able to contain herself and motioning at the ecstatic Britta and Rachel, who were fist-bumping on the down-low. 

“You got us,” they said as they hugged their newly engaged friend. 

“We did too,” a voice said from behind them.

Troy and Abed approached from behind, and Annie ran up to them: “Awwwww you guys!” She exclaimed as they hugged. 

\--------------------------

Jeff worked his way around, hugging and thanking Rachel for her help. After her, Britta. She had a smile on her face oddly reminiscent of the first time he'd met her. “Admit it, Winger. You thought I was gonna Britta this, didn’t you.”

“If by Britta’d you meant knock it out of the park? In which case, yes. You Britta’d this hardcore.”

Her face was all he needed to see to know how much the words had meant to her. “Thanks,” she smiled as they hugged. “Take care of her,” she said as they pulled away. 

"I Will," he responded as he turned to Shirley who was dabbing her eyes with a tissue. “Sorry we didn’t tell you. We wanted to keep the circle small, and we figured you’d enjoy the surprise….”

Shirley held back tears and stammered “I loved it. That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen….You’ve- you’ve grown up so much since we met and…..AWWW JEFFREY!” She exclaimed as she pulled him in for a suffocating hug. 

\--------------------------

The karaoke resumed normal bar functions after the last song, and the seven of them crowded around their table for a few hours more. Plenty of patrons came by to offer their congratulations to the newly engaged couple. The women fawned over how perfect they were together, and the men offered to by the table some drinks. It was the perfect ending to a perfect night. Jeff and Annie sat next to each other, their hands dangling and interlocking together in the gap in between their chairs. He looked over at her as the group conversed, and whispered into her ear: “I love you, Annie Edison.”

She smiled and looked back up at him. “I love you too, Jeff Winger.” He put his arm around her, and she leaned her head against his as she put her inside arm on his lap. He held it, running his thumb along the diamond on the ring. She looked down at it adoringly before slowly turning to him.

“So what happened to never settling down?” She teased innocently. 

“Annie, if you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m wrong a lot.”

“I’m holding you to that,” she said playfully.

“I know you will.”


End file.
